Release mechanism for toggle actuated plier type wrenches



March 18, 1952 c. H. REDMQN RELEASE MECHANISM FOR 'IfOGGLE ACTUATED PLIER TYPE WRENCHES Filed Aug. 30, 1947 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 INVENTOR. 019/281 5 H. R D/ V AMA 7 C. HEREDMON I RELEASE MECHANISM FOR TOGGLE ACTUATED PLIER TYPE WRENCHES March 18, 1952 um miiium IN VEN TOR. a l/MAE 5 i7 FfO/VO/V Ham T Patented Mar. 1 8, 1952 RELEASE .QYMECHANISM ,ron TOGGLE AOTUATED'JPLIER, TYPEWRENCHES i Charles' HarrisonIRedmon; Lexington, 'Ky., as-

isigndrtoFrahcis L. RiceJP-ikeville; Ky.

.,iAPmicatiOnnuguSte0, 1947,.Se'rial No. 771,529.

.1 'IThis'invention relates" to hand tools; and more particularly has reference -toi pliers orwrenches of'theso=called vise-grip 'type; having means whereby the handles' and-gripping jaws may be locked andreadily opened from the 'lockedposition' or prevented "from locking during operation.

"The invention is an improvement on handtools such' asdisclosed in Patent No. 2,280.005. "In thisl'atter construction, when the knurled screw or bolt 'was' adjusted for -aparticularly tight "grip of the jaws, it-'was'-'advisable'toopen 'the handle members by theuse' of a rigid tool, since the hands were oftenunjured-by the sudden re-.

lease'bf the' spring tension if op'eningwas :attempted'byapplying a force to the auxiliary hanthe object to be rotated, the knurled screw cannot be I manipulated to' move forwardly in the main handle, thus-moving the fulcrum" bar to a point of pivot where the point of pivot to the 'auxiliar handle is above -astraight line drawn between the pivot of the auxiliary handle to the movable jaw and the inner 'end' of the knurled screw,

effecting satisfactory work-with ease of application. Hence, upon release of pressure fromthe handles, the spring will urge the jaws apart.

An object of my invention is to provide pliers or wrenches of the character described with means whereby-the jaws may be readily and easily released-from the locked position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel'ad'justing device associated with'the auxiliaryhandle whereby the jaws may be prevented from lockingsothat an automatic or self-opening "of {the handlesand -j aws is accomplished upon :releaseof pressure from the-operating handles.

"Yet a'further object of my invention isto pro- "vide*a novel-adjustingattachment which may be incorporated with'hand tools of the type under consideration without interfering with the normal operation of the tool.

And a still further object of the invention is to provide a hand tool of the character described with an adjusting screw so located with respect to the fulcrum bar that the degree of lock tension may be regula ed within very fine limits.

In order to achieve the foregoing and other advantageous objects, my invention broadly'em compasses the idea of so locating-an adjustment screw on the'auxiliary handle that it maybe manipulated to accomplish first,.a quick andeasy release of the jaws when locked, second, preventing the jaws'from looking to provide automatic opening of thehandles whenpressure is released;

and third, a regulation oi -the amount of loci; tension. 3

With the foregoing and other objects in view,

the invention consists in'the'details of construcand in the arrangement and combination oi parts tobe hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed. v

In describing the invention in detail, reference will behad to the accompanying drawings formpart-of this application, wherein likecharacters denote corresponding parts in the several views,'and-in which:

Figure l is a View in side elevation, partly in sectionshowing the location of my novel attachment, with the jaws in locked position.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing me attachment rotated to a position where the fulcrum bar pivot has been moved above a straight line extending between the pivot of the auxiliary handle to the movable jaw and the inner end of the knurled screw.

Figure 3 is a view in side elevation, partly'in section, showing the auxiliary handle in its com pletely open position. I

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4 4 of Fig.2, looking in the direction of the arrows. I

Figure '5 is a detailview; partly in section, "of the"sp'ring "loaded "screw device f or achieving *the desired-results.

j-Referring' to the drawings-"and particularly Figure ,1, there is shown a main handle" member it of generahchannel configuration havingthe rear end thereof formed "with =an" interiorly threaded sleeve 1 l. 'Anexteriorly threaded screw I or bolt 12 having a knurled operating-head I3 is threaded into the sleeve H, and the front end provided "with" a contact head I lprojects into the handle "I 0. The'-opp osite end" of the handle it carries a fixed jaw Manda-"movable 'aw I6 .is' pivoted thereto; asshown at H. Each jaw is provided with a grippingsu'rface l8. "An auxiliary ithreaded bore 28. the bore 28, and a spring 39 surrounds the screw is adapted to engage the contact end I 4 of the adjusting screw l2. A helical spring 24 is attached at one end to the main handle 10, as shown at 25, and at the opposite extremity to the movable jaw, as shown at 29. The spring 24 tends to maintain the movable jaw normally away from the fixed jaw l5 (Figure 3) and holds the contact end 23 of the fulcrum bar 2| against the screw I2.

- In using this tool to lock the jaws l5 and IE on a given object, the screw 12 is rotated to a position so that when the handle 19 is moved toward the main handle ID, the pivot point 22 will be below a straight line drawn from the contact point 14 to the pivot point 26, as illustrated by the broken lines in Figure 1. In this position, the jaws are firmly locked and considerable force inust be applied to the end of the handle 19 to move the pivot point 22 above the straight line previously mentioned. To accomplish this result with ease and simplicity, it will be noted in Figs.

1 and 5 that-the auxiliary handle [9 is formed with an upwardly extending boss 27 having a A screw 29 is threaded into between the upper face of the boss andan operating head 31. The lower end of the screw is rethe handle 19, as shown in Figure 5. A scribe mark 21 is provided on the fulcrum bar 2| to facilitate rapid adjustment of the screw 29.

Assuming the jaws l5 and I6 are looked as 1 shown in Figure 1, this look may be quickly broken by rotating the screw 29 downwardly to a point where the end 32 thereof engages the lug 33, andby continued rotation of the screw in the same direction, the pivot point 22 of the fulcrum bar will be moved upwardly beyondthe straight line drawn between the pivot 20 and the end 14 of the screw 12, whereupon the handle 1.9 is automatically released from the closed position. By virtue of this novel arrangement, itwill be appreciated that it is not necessary to apply any force to the auxiliary handle to release the .jaws from the locked position which is entirely advantageous over the tools of this type currently being used.

0n the other hand, if automatic opening of the jaws l5 and IE is desired, upon release of pressure from the auxiliary handle, this may be readily accomplished by rotating the screw 29 downwardly a sufiicient distance so that the pivot point 22 will not reach or pass. beyond the straight line drawn between the end H! of the screw l2 and the pivot 20 of the handle 1.9 to. the movable jaw It. With the tool in this position, the spring 24 will urge the jaws l5 and i6 apart as soon as pressure is relieved from the auxiliary handle I9.

Another important advantage is that the screw 29 may be manipulated so as to set the screw in a position with respect to the fulcrum bar 2! whereby the jaws I5 and I6 may be locked yet released by a very light pull on the free end of the auxiliary handle 1e.

I believe it is readily apparent from the foregoing description that I have provided a very simple attachment which may be incorporated in hand tools of the type described which easily effects an unlocking of the gripping jaws without danger of injuring the operators hands. Furthermore, by proper adjustment of the screw 29, the tool can be easily converted so that the handles will automatically open upon release of pressure from the auxiliary handle'and, in addition, the lock tension may be regulated within very close limits.

The invention is not to be confined to any strict conformity with the showing in the drawing but may be changed or modified so lon as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claim.

I claim: a

In a hand tool of the character described, a handle provided with a fixed jaw, a movable jaw pivoted to the handle, an auxiliary handle pivoted to the movable jaw, a fulcrum bar pivoted to the auxiliary handle and having a free end, a lug on the fulcrum bar in proximity to the pivot point of the fulcrum bar to the auxiliary handle and extending in the direction of the auxiliary handle, a member longitudinally adjustable in the main handle adapted to contact the free end of the fulcrum bar for adjusting the movable jaw relative to the fixed jaw, the arrangement being such that when the pivot of the fulcrum bar is below a straight line extending from the pivot point of the auxiliary handle to the movable jaw and the free end of the fulcrum bar and the inner end of the longitudinally extending member, the jaws will be tightly closed, spring means normally moving the movable jaw away from the fixed jaw, the improvement comprising manually operated screw means in the auxiliary handle rearwardly of the point of pivot of the fulcrum bar to the auxiliaryhandle adapted to be rotated to contact the fulcrum bar to move the pivot point of the fulcrum bar up to a point where the auxiliary handle is above the aforementioned straight line so that said spring means will move the movable jaw away from the fixed jaw.

CHARLES HARRISON; REDMON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Great Britain Mar. 20, 1946 

